5. Trailing the Teacher

Chapter 5 Trailing the Teacher A soccer ball shot past Bradley. When he grabbed the ball, he saw some high school kids walking by the school. The tallest kid had another boy on his shoulders. Two of the others were tossing a basketball back and forth. They were pretty big, so Bradley figured they were seniors.

一个足球从布拉德利身边飞过。 当他抢到球的时候，他看到一些高中生从学校旁边走过。 最高的孩子肩上还有一个男孩。 另外两个人在来回扔篮球。 他们块头很大，所以布拉德利以为他们是高年级学生。

The school bell sounded, and Bradley bounded back to the other kids. He carried the soccer ball and handed it to Ms. Tery. "Thank you, Brian," Ms. Tery said. "I'm Bradley," Bradley said. She grinned. "Who says?" "I have bigger freckles than my brother," Bradley said. Ms. Tery made the kids wash their hands. Then she marched them to the school library. "Walk single file, like little ducks," she said. "And no quacking!" Bradley picked a book called Charlotte's Web. The cover showed a big spider hanging from its web and a girl with a pig in her arms. When it was almost time to go home, Ms. Tery told the kids they could read quietly for a few minutes. She walked around the room, checking out everyone's books. At Bradley's desk she stopped. "I love that book," she said. "But I really don't like spiders!" Ms. Tery rubbed her arms. "Spiders give me goose bumps!" A few minutes later the bell rang.

上课铃响了，布拉德利跳回到其他孩子身边。 他拿起足球，递给了李小姐。 Tery。“谢谢你，布莱恩。” Tery说。“我叫布拉德利，”布拉德利说。 她咧嘴一笑。“谁说的?”布拉德利说：“我的雀斑比我哥哥的还大。” 特里让孩子们洗手。 然后她带他们去了学校图书馆。 “像小鸭子一样排成一排走，”她说。 “不许嘎嘎叫！”布拉德利选了一本叫《夏洛特的网》的书。 封面上是一只大蜘蛛挂在网上，一个女孩怀里抱着一头猪。 快到回家的时候了。 特里告诉孩子们，他们可以安静地阅读几分钟。 她在房间里走来走去，查看每个人的书。 在布拉德利的办公桌前，她停了下来。 “我喜欢那本书，”她说。 “但我真的不喜欢蜘蛛！”Ms。 特里揉了揉胳膊。“蜘蛛让我起鸡皮疙瘩！”几分钟后，铃响了。

"Class dismissed!" Ms. Tery called out. "See you tomorrow!" The kids jumped out of their seats. Bradley nodded good-bye to Ms. Tery. He had a lump in his throat. Were they really going to spy on their teacher? Outside, Bradley, Brian, Nate, and Lucy hid behind some bushes on the side of the school. Ms. Tery would have to walk right past them. "What if she doesn't walk home?" Lucy asked. "What if she has a car?" "I never thought of that," Bradley said. They sat and waited. They heard teachers saying good-bye. They heard car doors slam and engines start. Bradley heard a bird call and looked up into the nearest tree. It was the same tree where the sneakers had been hanging. Only now they were gone. Suddenly his brother grabbed his arm. "She's coming!" Brian whispered. Ms. Tery loped past them, heading for Main Street. She carried a shopping bag with a picture of a kangaroo on the side.

“下课!”特里大声喊道。 “明天见！”孩子们从座位上跳了起来。 布拉德利向史密斯女士点头告别。 Tery。他喉咙哽咽。 他们真的要监视他们的老师吗？ 外面，布拉德利、布莱恩、内特和露西躲在学校一边的灌木丛后面。 特里女士必须从他们身边走过。 “如果她不走回家怎么办？”露西问。 “如果她有车怎么办？”“我从来没想过这个，”布拉德利说。 他们坐着等着。他们听到老师们说再见。 他们听到车门砰地一声关上，引擎发动。 布拉德利听到鸟叫，抬头望向最近的一棵树。 这就是挂球鞋的那棵树。 只是现在他们走了。突然，他哥哥抓住了他的胳膊。 “她来了!”布莱恩低声说。 特里飞快地从他们身边走过，朝主街走去。 她拎着一个购物袋，袋边有一只袋鼠的图案。

"She's walking!" Bradley whispered. "I'll bet she carries the stuff she steals in that bag!" Nate said. "Or maybe it's filled with tiny sneakers," Brian offered.

“她走了!”布拉德利低声说。 “我敢打赌她把偷来的东西装在那个包里！”内特说。 “或者里面装满了小球鞋，”布莱恩说。